Consecration | Russian River Brewing Company

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Reviews by ScottO:

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Popped and poured a 2014 bottle, poured dark reddish brown with minimal head and lacing. Very much wood forward, nice fruity nose and the taste followed suit, with a little pucker factor and vinegar. The fruits were minimal, but it was an older bottle. Damn good beer. Looking forward to trying a fresher bottle.

Just outstanding. Bottle dated 11-4-14 poured into HF stem glasses. Smell is red wine dominated, with oak and a hint of sourness making an appearance. Taste is incredible, like a sour, carbonated red wine. I received both this and Supplication together in a trade, and I actually preferred this. My "desert island" sour.

A gorgeous reddish brown beer with a quickly fading head. No lacing but a constant patch of bubbles float on the surface above the nucleation site. The aroma is a medley of oak, red wine, vanilla, tart cherries and a hint of chocolate. The taste is woody, sweet, and vinous. There are also cherries, vanilla and chocolate in the taste. This is just outstanding.

This is meant to be a valid criticism of this beer. This is a back to back tasting of Consecration and Supplication.

I openly challenge anyone and everyone to do a blind tasting of these beers. They are interesting in their own way, but all I see them as is a vessel to deliver the bitter strain of yeast that they have in common. This beer is nothing more than sour, you cannot taste the currants or anything. RR Cornered the DIPA.TIPA market with the Pliny's and is in search of a new thing, unfortunately it does not deliver. These beers are nothing more than sour.

Pours with a highly fizzy, slightly tan head that starts high but dissipates quickly. The carbonation is very evident still after 2 years. Pour starts out a copper and turns to a deep amber. Bubbles all over the bottom of the glass and intermittently rises up.

The smell is of what I assume to be currants as it has quite a fruity bouquet. Definitely getting the Cab wine aroma in here, with a small amount of wood on the back end. No alcohol aroma at 10%. Nose is great.

The taste compliments the nose in many ways. This beer is basically a cab, but the fruit takes over and it's not dry. The initial flavor is like a wine, but seamlessly blends in the fruity currant flavor, and then some tangy acidity on the back end. The sourness is very subtle. Not really much wood that I pick up except maybe in the aftertaste. Alcohol not present except for a little warming sensation going down. There is a mild tobacco flavor as the beer warms but in no way is this off putting.

The mouth is full bodied with a mid level carbonation despite the highly carbed appearance. I don't know how but this is a refreshing, thirst quenching 10% sour.

I've been wanting to try this beer for a long time. It did not disappoint. This is easily the most balanced sour I've ever had. What is crazy is how refreshing and thirst quenching this is, for a sour at 10%. I would love to have a crack at this fresh. However, I paid $19 for this 12.7 oz beauty. I will certainly pay attention to events and alerts of local establishments when this comes on tap, it's hard to justify spending the $ for a bottle, but it is so good. If you see this and have the extra $ laying around I HIGHLY recommend.

Pours from caged and corked 750 ML bottle(Batch 001X2) a clear amber brown with a very spritzy head of foam. When it's spritzy, I know it's not going to last very long and it didn't. The bubbles surfacing to the top are keeping a small island afloat, so to speak. Hehe..the foam reminds me of pixels on a computer screen...

The smell is just as I remember from the samples I had at last year's GABF...Cabernet Sauvignon notes dominate with big notes of vanilla and oak and fruit that *is* currants. I love red currants on buttered toast and the smell here totally reminds me of that.

The taste is deliciously both sweet and tart up front. Maybe a bit more intense than I remember from the 1 oz samples but hey, I love that it is and I love the fact that I now have 25.4 oz, give or take a few as I've just taken a few sips, to take my time with and savour. The foam is now gone but I can still see the lively carbonation throwing up....errr...tossing...err..the bubbles are still making their way to the top nearly smack damn in the center of the glass.
Back to the taste. I'm now getting a pretty big kick from the Brett(sorry, I have a hard time spelling it out) and I'd be amiss if I didn't say there's a fair amount of caramel malt here, hence my first sentance on taste. Gee wiz this is so damn tasty and there's so much going on with the flavours, I can't describe them all properly.

Medium mouthfeel and pretty high carbonation, a plus in my book, it finishes with big sour and Brett notes. Wonderful!

Drinkability? 10%abv and I cannot taste it or feel it during or after the swallow. No warming for me at all but I *know* that when I finish this big bottle, I'll feel that all is right with the world, if that makes any sense. ;^)

Bottom line: A superb! American Wild Ale that I fell in love with from my very first sip. A must try for anyone who favours the style!

Finally..a big Thank You goes out to The Wine Underground in Englewood CO for making this available online!

One of the top rated sours in the country and I finally got one from my buddy Randy!

A - Rich burgundy color when poured but is a red-tinged brown color in the glass. Slightly cloudy from the yeast with a nice white head but subsides to nothing after a minute or two.

S - The smell is fruity and very complex. It is vinous with the currants and typical cab grape fruit notes. There is some alcohol, some fruit esters, and some soft Belgian character present. There is some sour and some oakiness but the dark fruit character is true.

T - The first sip just explodes with red wine vinegar! The sour makes you pucker from the front to the back of the palate. After the initial sour punch the complexities come out. There is a fruit character more like Cabernet and not as much like the currants. There is the sweetness of the malt, oak, and some Belgian character but it is very subtle in comparison to the strong sour character.

M - Medium to light mouth-feel with light carbonation. Like a sour soda that has fizz initially but dies down and for 10% ABV it is much more like a wine than a Belgian strong ale.

Overall, a very interesting beer. I was not expecting the full on sour, red wine vinegar, shock to my palate when I first cracked this open. It is a unique experience with a distinct sour and then sweet/complex nature. It is also very thin for what the base beer is and very much like a sour wine. I would not recommend this unless you like sours and have a heart for a bolder sour experience. I could see someone liking it but at an "rAvg: 4.5" I was expecting more flavor and less sour.

Bottled 4/16.Poured into a stemmed glass a brownish tinged amber with a fluffy pink colored head atop that was quick to fade.Lacitc notes,sour cherries,and vanilla toast stand out most in the nose,not overly funky but quite sour.Well rounded palate with that sour cherry element than the toasty oak with a hint of the cabernet that it housed,light vanilla in the finish.I'am not a sour fan by any means but this is just full of layered flavors and sourness gives it brightness upfront.Quite worthy of it's lofty rating.

I approached this beer with eager anticipation and confidence that it wouldn't disappoint. As expected it did not. Consecration pours a deep ruby red with almost blood orange hues and a healthy pink lacing. A depthful aroma forwarns of tartness but better yet contains a rich dark fruitiness and even...what is it,, Tamarind? Hints of vinegar and dried fruit follow. On the tongue the beer is obviously tart, subtly sour, and surprisingly chewy and full. Ever present is oak rounding out dried fruits lactic notes. At times lighter notes of raspberry almost shine through. A beery like vinegar flavor stings at the palate long after the sip is consumed. If one focuses in on the oak it opens up just slightly enough to reveal vanilla and coconut. Vinous. Though a lesser masterpiece than Temptation, Sanctification, Supplication, or Beatification in my opinion, this is a tour de force nonetheless.

Thanks to GetMeAnIPA for this one... my first RR sour! Consecration pours a pretty damp and dreary copper-brown color with some very slight ruby-red highlights when held in front of a bright light. The head is a murky beige color, borderline light-tan, and dissipates quickly into thin air leaving behind only a little bit of wet legging. I'll tell you this, it's not much to look at really. Kind of dark and musty looking - I guess it fits the style. I was just expecting something a bit more vibrant. The aroma is heavy fruit; currants, grapes, cherries, mixed berries. Very tart on the nose alone. The aroma makes up for the vibrance that was lost on its appearance. Slight wet, woody smell trailing in the back somewhere, but not much (if any) funk or brett. Just straight up tart and sour fruits and vinegar.

Aaaaand the taste is an explosion on the tongue. It is the aroma in "taste" form. You get hit right up front with a strong acidity and balsamic-like vinegar character. Starts off just a bit sour, then quickly the tartness overcomes every corner of your mouth and becomes nearly pucker-inducing. Grapes, berries, plums, currants, cherries, and even a touch of apricot in the finish. Juicy, juicy, JUICY ass fruits; authentic, quenching, tart, and satisfying. I'm sure there are plenty of fruits and flavors I'm missing, as there are plenty of things I can't quite identify - but the harmony between them is pretty amazing.

About halfway through and even earlier when the beer gets warmer, the wood flavors come out - wet, damp, deep oak. Slightly musty and corky, but still, not much on the funky or barnyard side of the spectrum, which might be a good thing - I don't know if I'd want anything else distracting me from this delicious onslaught of gushing, sour fruits. Vinegar becomes even more prominent at the end in the fruity and sweet aftertaste. Alcohol? What alcohol? This beer is 10% ABV? Are you fucking kidding me? No idea how the alcohol is masked this well, but it is. Watch out, this beer will put you on your ass if you're not careful. Medium bodied, crispy and slightly dry with a heavy load of carbonation.

My first RR wild ale, and hopefully not my last. This was some seriously good shit. So satisfyingly tart, sour, and sweet with a perfect flavor profile of authentic fruits. Insanely drinkable for such a high ABV. Ridiculous.

Reddish brown with a medium-sized tanned/off-white head that leaves a lot of lacings.

The aroma is malty with a noticeable funky and lactic character. Notes of wet wood, mud, grass and tart fruit. A herbal note as well, perhaps anise.

The flavor is full with a nice malty foundation and tart fruit notes. Lovely tart currant flavors coupled with grass. Overall, the flavor development is really pleasant and integrated. The finish is very very dry considering the ABV, and has a light bitterness to it beneath a sour fruitiness.

Full-bodied and smooth with a semi-sticky mouthfeel.

This is a very impressive beer. Considerably sour and no sign of the alcohol, almost hard to believe it's 10%. Good craftsmanship.

Served on tap at the brewery, as well as in subsequent bottles. Absolutely lives up to the ratings. Pour is a dark amber with a rapidly thinning head, smell is complex and wonderful. Taste is phenomenal: not much of the currents that it is brewed with, but instead cherries and grapes, as well as a pleasant complex sour mouthful. Much more sour taste than funk. Completely drinkable, which you have to watch because at 10% alcohol this will knock you down quick. Can't taste the alcohol at all.

A: Pours a ruby-raspberry red with a white to khaki hued, one finger head. The lacing is excellent, highlighted by clumpy chunks of foamy head. A very sizzling effervescence from the carbonation is pleasing to my eye. A surprised face is staring at me from the good head retention.

S: A sour, yeasty, and cherry aroma combination greets my nostrils. Some hints of banana bread and lemon zest are also evident. This is not a huge aroma, but the Cabernet Sauvignon oak barrel aging is more and more apparent with deeper inhales, and even more so as the beer warms.

T: As soon as Consecration hits my lips, the tartness of the beer explodes onto my palate. So very sour... but an iron and earthy bitterness is ever present, as well. The cherry and cabernet tastes are well blended with the wild yeasts to create a huge and explosive flavor. Every time I take a sip, my eyes just fly open from the tartness of this brew.

M: The sides of my palate are just bombarded with a puckering sourness that quickly spreads to the rest of my mouth. This is a phenomenal, wild, tart attack on my mouth - I love it. A nicely dry finish leaves my palate quite clean.

D: I will certainly seek this out again and be very excited to imbibe it. I did split this four ways, though, and that is about all that my mouth could handle in a sitting. Russian River, wow. Another great brew.